Students Shine at Annual Research Symposium
This year’s Medical Student Research Symposium, held on Jan. 25, featured posters by nearly 40 medical students, the majority of whom participated in the 2018 Medical Student Summer Research Program (MSSRP).
The MSSRP provides scholarships for first-year medical students to conduct research under the guidance of a BUMC faculty mentor. Enthusiastic and dedicated faculty mentors ensure the success of the program; they guide students in basic science, clinical, public health, medical education and quality improvement projects for seven weeks. Departments represented include Otolaryngology, Radiation Oncology, Ob/Gyn, Pediatrics and more.
The symposium and the MSSRP program are organized by the Enrichment Office under the direction of Suzanne Sarfaty, MD ’88, assistant dean for medical education, associate professor of medicine, and Isabel Dominguez, PhD, assistant director, MSSRP, assistant professor of medicine.
As part of the symposium, six outstanding student abstracts were orally presented. Selection was based on prior submission and competitive review. This year’s presenters:
Samantha Chua
“Survival Outcomes for Young Men with Localized Intermediate-risk Prostate Cancer: An Analysis of the National Cancer Database”
Mentor: Ariel Hirsch, MD
Dept.: Radiation Oncology | Project Type: Clinical Science
Avilash Das
“Lumbar Fusion Rate Following a Minimally Invasive Anterolateral Psoas Sparing Technique”
Mentor: Chadi Tannoury, MD
Dept.: Orthopedic Surgery | Project Type: Clinical Science
Spoorthi Davala
“Is Cardiac Monitoring Necessary for Infants Undergoing Pharmacologic Treatment for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome?”
Mentor: Elisha Wachman, MD
Dept.: Pediatrics | Project Type: Clinical Science
Zaroug Jaleel
“Association of Electronic Cigarette Vaping and Cigarette Smoking with Decreased Random Flap Viability in Rats”
Mentor: Jeffrey Spiegel, MD
Dept.: Otolaryngology | Project Type: Basic Science
John Carlo Pasco
“Analysis of the Effectiveness of a Peer-led Narrative Medicine Workshop for First- and Second-year Medical Students”
Mentor: Megan Young, MD
Dept.: Medicine | Project Type: Medical Education
Nayan Sanjiv
“Treatment with Alpha-Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone (α-MSH) to Promote Retinal Survival in Mice Eyes Following Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury”
Mentor: Andrew Taylor, PhD
Dept.: Ophthalmology | Project Type: Basic Science
Six students received the Serchuck Award for Outstanding Research Posters. The award honors Mr. Jerome Serchuck and Mrs. Joan Serchuck, longtime donors to the summer research program. The Serchucks have given to the program since its establishment in 2000 and continue to do so yearly. The first Serchuck Award was given in 2007.
There are three Serchuck award categories:
- Best basic science poster (and runner-up)
- Best clinical science poster (and runner-up)
- Best Medical Education/Public Health/QI poster (and runner-up)
The recipients with their project titles and mentors are listed below:
Zaroug Jaleel | First prize
“Association of Electronic Cigarette Vaping and Cigarette Smoking with Decreased Random Flap Viability in Rats” Mentor: Jeffrey Spiegel, MD
Dept.: Otolaryngology | Project Type: Basic Science
Dylan Thomas | Runner up
“Developing a High-Throughput Screening Workflow to Predict Drug Responsiveness for CF Patients”
Mentor: Finn Hawkins, MB, BCh
Dept.: Center for Regenerative Medicine | Project Type: Basic Science
Amoli Kulkarni | First price
“Emergency Department Utilization among People Living with HIV on Chronic Opioid Therapy”
Mentor: Alexander Walley, MD, MSc
Dept.: CARE Unit | Project Type: Clinical Science
Anthony Cheung | Runner up
“Socioeconomic Status as a Predictor of Indication for Pediatric Adenotonsillectomy”
Mentor: Jessica Levi, MD
Dept.: Otolaryngology | Project Type: Clinical Science
Justin Siu | First prize
“Uber Health: A Novel Method of Eliminating Transportation Barriers to Care Among Urban Gynecologic Refugee Women”
Mentor: Courtney Steer-Massaro, MSN, MPH
Dept.: OB/GYN | Project Type: Med Ed/PH/QI
Andrew Klufas | Runner up
“Oncology Education in Medical School Curricula: A Global Analysis of Current and Experimental Teaching Techniques and their Efficacy”
Mentor: Ariel Hirsch, MD
Dept.: Radiation Oncology | Project Type: Med Ed/PH/QI